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CONCLUSION
Inconclusion, the triumph of Islam was to impose, through the
Quranic laws, a cohesive system upon the disparate society within
which it emerged. The status of women in pre-Islamic Arabia had
fluctuated from tribe to tribe and even within the same tribe#
under theinfluence of varying social and cultural features.
Thus. some tribes accorded the woman certain rights, such as the
right to fight alongside the men, the right to trade and to
participate in society in other ways. Othrs, however, treated
the woman as a second class citizen and avoided dealings with her or
even mention of her. The most extreme practised burial alive on
their daughters. Some restrictions on women were common to all,
in such areas as inheritance and dowry. The contradictory elements
within pre-Islamic Arabia may be attributed to the absence of any
general systems of laws or even of legally accepted customs to
safeguard women and their rights. It would be inadmissable, therefore,
to generalise that the status of women was always a degrading and
humiliating one.
The effects of the transition from Jahilliyah to Islam were felt
on society as a whole. Within this total reshaping, the woman's
status was accordingly affected. The existing positive aspects
received approval and were adopted more widely, while the negative
aspects were abolished. Therefore, in general, the woman's rights
increased under Islam, qua wife, qua mother. qua daughter and qua
member of society. In Islamv women are regarded as men's equals
insofar as they are all Muslims following the Islamic law. Any
restrictions which werelaid on'the women by . Islam iere, as has
been shown, for her own protection*
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